"I wouldn't set my team up that way"

Tipperary manager Liam Kearns is not a fan of Fermanagh’s defensive set-up.

With painfully limited resources, the Ernemen have been deploying a decidedly defensive approach under Rory Gallagher and the strategy is paying dividends in terms of results as they are unbeaten so far in Division Two. But Kearns insists he wouldn’t use such a strategy as there’s no entertainment value in it:

“I suppose a manager sets his team up to get a result,” the Kerry man told The Irish Examiner. “He got a result against Cork, he got a result there, and he got a result off us in Thurles. I have to say in Thurles, I wouldn’t set my team up that way, but a manager has to set up his team the best way to get a result.

“It is a results business, and Rory would say ‘if I keep Fermanagh in Division 2…’ I presume he thinks it’s the best way of going about it. They get 15 behind the ball and it’s very hard to break them down.

“I can only speak for my own teams, we never did that. You have to take cognisance of your defence but at the same time when you’re playing a team with 15 behind the ball then you have to have a lot back yourself to cover yourself.”